The Esoteric Meaning of Summer Solstice
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Summer Solstice -- at last! It's finally summer, with all that entails...
No matter how necessary and valuable the dark times of the year, the reaping and the resting, there is that in human beings which rejoices in the long sweet light of summer.The days are warm and glorious.
Here's one reason why...
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The Spirit Soars High
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The magick of the Wheel of the Year is that it is symbolic of the journey of the human soul.
As the Earth moves through the seasons, it reminds us of our deeper purpose in incarnating... what we are really here for, and what our full potential is.
The Sun is and always has been symbolic of the highest Divinity. It is at this height of summer at solstice when the Sun's power reaches its zenith.
This represents our spirit's ascension to the Divine -- the reunion of self with Divinity.
And the joy we feel at Summer Solstice is a mere sampling of that supreme bliss!
The Spiritual Summit
In this spiritual perspective, the climax of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year is right here, at Summer Solstice.
So why, then, is Summer Solstice one of the least-celebrated of Wiccan Sabbats?
There are various reasons, but I think the three major ones are...
- It has its own natural celebrations -- as we garden, vacation, spend time in forests and beaches, etc.
- When things are running smoothly and life is blooming all around, we don't need the emotional pick-me-up that we do in the dark seasons of Samhain and Yule.
- It's the most subtle and complex of the Wiccan Sabbats, so its power is overlooked.
The Secret Of Summer Solstice
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The other Sabbats are common times of Wiccan rituals, because they are more pertinent to the mundane plane of existence...
- The birth of livestock and wild game,
- The planting of seed,
- The harvest of the grain,
- The huge change of pace at the fallow seasons,
- The rebirth of light.
All of these are critical to physical survival.
Summer Solstice, however, holds its power on the level of the Spirit ... which is much less obvious, demanding, and (seemingly) urgent.
And it is complex not only because it deals with spirit rather than matter, but because it has a built-in paradox ... While summer is just hitting its stride, the Earth is already turning towards the dark season, as the nights lengthen from this point of the calendar.
Spirit In Matter
Symbolically, the dark season represents the spirit's incarnation in matter. While this is a sacred event, still, in a way, the birth of the body means the "death" of the spirit.
Just as physical death means our transition from this world to the next, so Spirit leaves the dimension in which it dwells it comes to this limited expression of reality.
This is all part of the eternal, ecstatic, sacred dance of Spirit.
And while life on Earth is, to a Wiccan, a joyful and holy event, still it can't hold a candle to the intensity of bliss that we experience in reunion with our Divine Source.
Summer Solstice Can Boost You To The Divine
The joy of summer is merely a faint fore-taste of the infinite ecstacy awaiting you... not after death or in a few thousand lifetimes... available to you RIGHT NOW.
The Divine Reunion is waiting merely upon your recognition of it. When you release your thoughts and distractions, when you open the Temple of your heart, you find it already within you... and all around you simultaneously.
Your spiritual "Summer Solstice" can be today!
And you can use the power of the Earth's Summer Solstice in your Wiccan Rituals to lift you to that experience. That is what Summer Solstice is really for.
May you experience this transcendent reunion for yourself!
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Return from Wiccan Sabbats: Summer Solstice to Silver Chalice E-Zine, June '09
